Wishing ourfamily and friends
a happy, healthy Passover

Spirituality

TORAH PORTION

— The Staff of The Detroit Jewish News

The Still, Small Voice

Shabbat Hagodol; Parshat Tzav:
Leviticus 6:1-8:36; Malacahi 3:4-24.

DETROIT
JEWISH NEWS

J

Efrat, Israel

God is telling His prophet that peo-
ple aren't moved in the long term by
he Sabbath before Pessah is
miracles on a mountain — whether
called "The Great Sabbath"
Mount Sinai or Mount Carmel — and
(Shabbat Hagadol) after the
that the Israelites will not be forced
last verse of the haftorah:
into submission by dire
"Behold I send you Elijah
punishments. After the first
the Prophet before the
revelation at Sinai, they
coming of the great and
worshiped the Golden Calf,
awesome day of the Lord"
and after the revelation at
— the day of Redemption
Mount Carmel, they didn't
(Malachi 3:23).
repent of their idolatry,
It is certainly logical that
despite their shouts of
Elijah, the herald of the
"The Lord! He is God!"
redemption, is featured
The Israelites will be
before Pesach, the "time of
moved only by learning of
Shlomo Riskin
our freedom" and redemp-
God's second revelation at
Specia 1 to the
tion from Egyptian servi-
Sinai — the glimpse He
Jewish News
tude.
shared with Moses into His
But what kind of person
divine essence by the still,
is Elijah who will be the "messenger
small voice of kindness and under-
of good news, salvation and comfort"? standing, by the God of love and for-
The biblical Elijah was a zealot who
giveness (Exodus 34:6-8).
slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal after
And this is precisely what Malachi
a contest at Mount Carmel, then chal-
says at the conclusion of his proph-
lenged God to punish the Israelites for ecy. There is the possibility that "the
having rejected His covenant and later end of days" will be "awe-some" and
allowed Jezebel to murder the Lord's
"awe-ful," replete with war, destruc-
prophets (I Kings 19:10).
tion and the bare survival of the
But somehow in talmudic and folk
faithful remnant; but the preferred
tradition, Elijah morphs into a benign, possibility is that the end of days
grandfatherly figure who drinks from
come as a result of national repen-
a special goblet at everyone's seder
tance for ignoring the voice of God,
table and graces every newborn male
and the return of Israel to our heav-
baby with his presence at their cir-
enly Father in love and gratitude
cumcision.
rather than out of fear.
Just when, why and how did this
Elijah must "turn back the hearts
fiery fanatic become a venerable sage? of the parents to their children and
"I have been a zealot:' Elijah said to
the hearts of the children to their
God, "yes, a zealot for the Lord God
parents" with the still, silent sound
of hosts, because the Israelites have
of unconditional love. God does
forsaken Your covenant; they have
not want to "strike the land with
destroyed Your altars, they have killed
utter destruction" at the end of days
Your prophets and they now seek to
(Malachi 3:24).
take my life as well, I who am now left
According to Midrash, Elijah will
alone" (I Kings 19:10).
shuttle between heaven and earth
Elijah understands that despite the
and attend every Pesach seder, where
great miracle he wrought at Mount
Jews celebrate God's promise of
Carmel, resulting in the slaughter of
redemption, and be present at every
the 450 prophets of Baal, no one has
circumcision, where Jews shed blood
repented, nothing has changed.
for the covenant. The prophet will
God then sends Elijah a vision: a
transform his people not by judging
great, powerful wind, but the Lord is
them, but only by loving them with
not in the wind; an earthquake, but
the still, small sound of our Father's
the Lord is not in the earthquake; a
unconditional love.
fire, but the Lord is not in the fire. And
after the fire comes a still, silent sound Shlomo Riskin is chancellor of Ohr Torah
— the voice of the Lord.
Stone and chief rabbi of Efrat.

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